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Floodplain Forest Communityfloodplain Abstract Forest, Page 1 Floodplain Forest CommunityFloodplain Abstract Forest, Page 1 Community Range Prevalent or likely prevalent Photo by Joshua G. Cohen Infrequent or likely infrequent Absent or likely absent Overview: Floodplain forests occupy the low-lying forest in the Lake States (MI, WI, and MN) circa 1800, areas adjacent to streams and rivers which are third order just over 3,000 hectares (7,400 acres) of unlogged or greater and subject to periodic over-the-bank flooding floodplain forest remain today. Only 29 hectares (72 and cycles of erosion and deposition. The floodplain acres) of unlogged floodplain forest are located in forest is a broadly defined community type, where species Michigan, which formerly supported approximately composition and community structure vary regionally 1.1 million hectares (2.7 million acres) of floodplain along with varying flooding frequency and duration.Acer forest circa 1800 (Frelich 1995). The damage caused saccharinum (silver maple) and Fraxinus pennsylvanica to floodplain forests during logging operations of the (red ash) are the major overstory dominants. These late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was not dynamic forested systems represent an interface between limited to the removal of overstory trees. Logs from terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. floodplains as well as adjacent upland forests were transported along rollways to rivers and streams where Global and state rank: G3?/S3 splash dams were used to transport the logs, altering stream flow and channel characteristics. In addition, Range: Floodplain forests dominated by silver maple and the clearing of floodplain forests was often followed red ash occur throughout the midwestern states, in much by cultivation, homesteading, or livestock grazing of the eastern U.S., and in southern Canada (Manitoba and (Malanson 1993, Verry and Dolloff 2000). Where Ontario), ranging primarily from Minnesota east to New agricultural practices were not conducted, forests England, south to Virginia and west to Arkansas (Faber- regenerated following cutting. Such regeneration Langendoen 2001, NatureServe 2003). In Michigan, accounts for the current 21,500 hectares (53,100 acres) floodplain forests are found along major rivers and streams of floodplain forest greater than 120 years old in throughout the state but are most extensive in the Lower Michigan and 98,300 hectares (242,800 acres) in the Peninsula (Kost et al. 2007). Species richness is greatest 80-120–year age class (Frelich 1995). Currently there in the southern Lower Peninsula where many floodplain are 47 documented occurrences of floodplain forest species reach the northern extent of their range. in Michigan (approximately 7,160 hectares or 17,700 acres). Seventeen of these occurrences, constituting Rank Justification: Although there were an estimated approximately 4,850 hectares (12,000 acres), are high- 1.8 million hectares (4.4 million acres) of floodplain quality representations of the type. Michigan Natural Features Inventory P.O. Box 30444 - Lansing, MI 48909-7944 Phone: 517-373-1552 Floodplain Forest, Page 2 Ecoregional map of Michigan (Albert 1995) depicting distribution of floodplain forest (Albert et al. 2008) Michigan Natural Features Inventory P.O. Box 30444 - Lansing, MI 48909-7944 Phone: 517-373-1552 Floodplain Forest, Page 3 In addition to disturbances related to the turn-of-the- surfaces at higher elevations than the floodplain that were century logging, floodplain forests of Michigan are highly abandoned when the river channel incised lower into the susceptible to more recent and ongoing disturbances that valley floor. Within the broader landscape, river valleys alter their hydrology (Ligon et al. 1995). Throughout represent an unusually diverse mosaic of landforms, North America, almost all large rivers and their floodplains physical environmental factors, species, and biological are subject to multiple hydrologic alterations, such as communities because of their abrupt environmental human-made levees, impoundments, channelization, gradients and complex ecological processes (Brinson dams, and changes in land use (Gergel 2002, Gergel et 1990, Gregory et al. 1991, Naiman et al. 1993). Floodplain al. 2002). By changing the flow of water, such hydrologic forests occur along streams or rivers that are third order alterations interrupt flood pulses, which are critical in the or greater (Strahler 1952). dynamics of seed dispersal, plant establishment, nutrient cycling, channel scouring, sediment deposition, and the Fluvial Landforms maintenance of species richness (Gergel et al. 2002). The dynamic process of channel migration creates a Changes in land cover surrounding the floodplain have also diversity of landscape features in floodplains. Due to the altered species composition and structure within floodplain geomorphic processes of over-the-bank flooding, transport forests. Agricultural land cover often leads to high nutrient and deposition of sediment, and erosive and abrasive water inputs into the floodplain (Lowrance et al. 1984), and the movement, the floodplains of large rivers exhibit a typical abundance of non-pervious surface in urban landscapes pattern of fluvial landforms, each of which is associated often results in a flashy discharge into nearby rivers. with a particular kind of vegetation (Hupp and Osterkamp 1985, Baker and Barnes 1998) (see Figure 1). Such fluvial The introduction of non-native organisms to floodplain landforms are distinguished by their size, shape, elevation, ecosystems in North America is so pervasive that few soil characteristics, and location in relation to the stream communities remain unaffected. The high frequency of channel. Due to the global distribution of river valley natural disturbances and high nutrient availability, which landscapes, a variety of names have been applied to their characterize floodplain ecosystems, facilitate colonization fluvial landforms. Several of the most characteristic fluvial of the floodplain by non-native plant species (Planty- landforms are described below and illustrated in Figure 1 Tabacchi et al. 1996). Once established, their dispersal (Hosner and Minckler 1960, Buccholz 1981, Baker and is enhanced by the connectivity of the riparian corridor. Barnes 1998): In addition to exotic plant species, exotic pathogens and insects have profoundly affected floodplain forests. For • natural levee – relatively high feature located adjacent example, the mortality of Ulmus americana (American to the river channel where the coarsest sediment is elm) caused by Dutch elm disease has virtually eliminated deposited by the fastest moving floodwaters (Brinson elm as a dominant overstory tree even though it was 1990); in comparison to other parts of the floodplain, historically one of the major dominants in many floodplain levees have soils of coarser texture and greater depth forests of Michigan (Barnes 1976). In 2002, a new exotic to water table, which result in better soil drainage and pest, the emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis), was soil aeration (Buccholz 1981) (Figure 1) identified in southeastern Michigan. This Asiatic beetle • point bar – formed by deposition of relatively coarse has already killed millions of ash trees and will likely alter sediment on the inner side of a curve in the river; often the species composition and structure of floodplain forests colonized by early successional vegetation that stabilizes (USDA Forest Service 2002, Roberts 2003). the soil (not shown in figure) • front – fine-textured new land deposits along stream Landscape Context and Natural Processes: River margins (Hosner and Minckler 1960); typically support valleys are linear depressions that contain a river channel early successional vegetation (not shown in figure) and its floodplain, often embedded within a series of • first bottom – low, poorly drained bottomland located higher terraces. River valleys, formed by the meltwater adjacent to the levee (Figure 1); formed by the present of glaciers, occur in glacial outwash channels. The river drainage system and subject to frequent over-the-bank floodplain is the low-lying area adjacent to the river that flooding; soil texture is typically finer than that of the was formed under the present drainage system and is levee. Although the range of topographic relief on the subject to periodic flooding and cycles of erosion and first bottom is often less than two meters, the first bottom deposition. In contrast, terraces are former floodplain is typically composed of low levees and adjacent wetter Michigan Natural Features Inventory P.O. Box 30444 - Lansing, MI 48909-7944 Phone: 517-373-1552 Floodplain Forest, Page 4 SM SM QR FG QA JN AN TA QM PO AS FP FP AS PD AS FN QB UA Riser Riser River Levee First bottom Backswamp Second bottom Low terrace AN = Acer nigrum QA = Quercus alba AS = Acer saccharinum QB = Quercus bicolor FG = Fagus grandifolia QM = Quercus macrocarpa FN = Fraxinus nigra QR = Quercus rubra FP = Fraxinus pennsylvanica SM = Acer saccharum JN = Juglans nigra TA = Tilia americana PD = Populus deltoides UA = Ulmus americana PO = Platanus occidentalis Figure 1. Idealized cross-section of river valley, southern Lower Michigan, illustrating the relation of canopy trees to fluvial landforms (Adapted from Baker and Barnes 1998; not drawn to scale). • first bottom (continued) – swales, creating a • meander-scar swamp – located at the foot of a valley landscape feature where small differences in elevation wall where the stream channel formerly cut into the can lead to large differences
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